The only sound to crack the crying darkness.
Effigies of men begin to walk the dull, vacant

Streets, slow motion cast in bronze, behind iron
Faces. I recall what we had been and glistening

Steel tears begin to roll. Yet I can do no other. I
Must join the plodding ranks marching to the sea.

G. Louis Heath, Ph.D., Berkeley, 1969, is Emeritus Professor, Ashford University, Clinton, Iowa. He enjoys reading his poems at open mics. He often hikes along the Mississippi River, stopping to work on a poem he pulls from his back pocket, weather permitting. He has published poems in a wide array of journals. His books include Leaves Of Maple and Long Dark River Casino.